The Pretties, The Halfways, and The Uglies
by Kayla Daughter of Thanatos
Summary: My name is Grace Taylor. There are 3 groups in our school, The Uglies, The Pretties and the Halfways, I'm a Halfway. The leaders of The Pretties are Percy and Annabeth. No one knows the leaders of the Uglies, no one knows the Uglies except the Pretties. The Uglies and The Pretties hate each other. But no one knows why. Until now, when I found out. (All rights to Riordan)
1. Prolouge

**I'm looking for a beta, I need grammatical help with run-ons and fragments. Read my other story, The Abused Duo. Please review, even if it's just to say, 'This Sucks', I don't mind flames.**

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><p>There's three groups at my elite boarding school, The Pretties, The Halfways and The Uglies. The Pretties are a small group who keep to themselves, no one knows much about them. I'm a Halfway, not ugly but not pretty, I'm close to the bottom of the Halfways, The Pretties leave us alone but bother the Uglies. The Uglies are those who aren't pretty.<p>

I thought The Pretties were just airheaded, shallow people, lead by the wonderful Miss Annabeth Chase and her perfect boyfriend Mr. Perseus "Percy" Jackson. I guess I was wrong, there was more to them, why The Uglies were outcasts, why they were so good looking and why The Halfways were ignored. Percy and Annabeth weren't just shallow people, they had a whole lot more to them. Of course, at the beginning of the story I didn't know this. I thought they were just rude, ignorant, wealthy, and shallow people.

The Pretties consisted of a small group, smaller than The Halfways and The Uglies. Percy and Annabeth of course, Percy's cousins Thalia and Nico. Then some other people, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Silena, Beckendorf and Sammy, just to name a few. Leo and Sammy were twins, identical twins, but Leo was more into mechanical things while Sammy loved the 40's and making mischief. Reyna was Jason's ex and Leo's current girlfriend, Piper was Jason's girlfriend. Sammy was Hazel's ex and Frank was Hazel's current boyfriend. Silena and Beckendorf had been dating forever. Thalia, Nico and Sammy were the only currently single ones.

The Halfways were most of the school. About 75%, we were the ones who hadn't got on The Pretties bad side, mostly Annabeth, or were just kind of pretty. There wasn't much about us, we were mixed ethnicities and different kinds of semi-attractive. We all just went from class to class, chatting among ourselves, trying not to stand out or get in the way of The Pretties.

The Uglies were a different story, some of them really were ugly while others were actually pretty. The difference between The Uglies and the rest of the groups was, The Uglies weren't really a group. They were just kind of random people here and there. You couldn't tell an ugly from the rest of us, unless you were a pretty of course. No one knew for certain how The Pretties knew who The Uglies were. No one knew how many uglies there were, if there were, a hundred, five or if there were only two because only the pretties knew.

This story is about how I found out how The Pretties, The Halfways and The Uglies came to be. Why there was such a rift between the two groups? No one knew, except for The Pretties, and soon to be... Me. People never switched groups, it's as if they knew if they were a pretty or an ugly, if they were confused, chances are, they were a halfway. Enough of that, it's time I tell the story of how the three groups were destroyed. And, how I discovered how this came about.

My name is Grace Taylor. I have long, blonde, wavy hair with natural red highlights and big blue eyes. I have a sprinkling of freckles across my face and thin lips. I'm not super pretty but I'm not ugly. Or at least, that's what my school thinks. I think I'm not bad looking, I'm a sophmore and I have a boyfriend. I like to party, a lot, though I've never drank. My boyfriend's name is Anthony MaGargee, he's a Halfway too. He found out with me.

He has chocolate brown eyes, a mixed complexion and curly black hair. He's better looking than me and always has girls all over him. What I love about him is that he ignores them. Yes ,I'm very jealous and possessive, so I've spied on him before, he's trustworthy. That's the only reason why I let him in on the secret, that and he's a whole lot smarter than me.


	2. The Basic Layout

**Alright, I'm looking for a beta for this story and my other story, The Abused Duo, read it!**

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><p><strong>(Grace POV)<strong>

I woke up in my dorm room. It was painted my favorite color, a light cerulean blue. I had a couple posters, my taste in music varied from Sleeping With the Sirens and Black Veil Brides to Justin Timberlake and Rihanna. I looked like a walking disaster in the morning before I put on my makeup, my roommate however was a beautiful girl with distinct Cherokee features. It was just my luck I was stuck with a pretty. I checked the time and saw it was 7:00. I opened the heavy curtains to allow light in, not because I liked it but because it annoyed Piper, my roommate.

Annoying her probably wasn't the best idea, you know, getting on the bad side of a pretty, and an important one. I liked to cause trouble so it didn't really matter to me, especially not now, since I didn't know anything. When all the curtains were opened she immediately groaned.

"Gra-a-a-ace!" she moaned. I smirked and strutted my private bathroom.

Once in there I took a shower and then, I put my makeup on. Preferring to go with a scene look that day. My blonde hair was already in choppy layers so I fluffed it with hair volumizer and hair, straightened the tips, made my bangs and I put temporary bright red and black dye in it. I made my makeup a bright red color with bold black. I had red eyeshadow and red lipstick and black eyeliner with wings. I had fake long eyelashes on black mascara on them.

I had a walk in closet on the side of the bathroom. I went in there and took out my black skinny jeans and paired them with a black crop top with red writing that looked like blood that said Shut Up and Die. I had a bunch of black bracelets, some band bracelets, some just random black ones. I finally slipped on my red vans and walked out.

I was wild and crazy in my style, Piper on the other hand was very cautious. She had on a light blue blazer with a light pink blouse, she also had a dark blue fancy messenger bag which had her books. She wore capri length faded cuffed jeans and pink heels. We looked each other up and down, seeing our varied styles. Piper nodded, seeing that my outfit was alright, no rips or tears. I did the same, we weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination. We were just both nice and wanted to make sure we looked nice. Unless we were partners for a project, this was the only interaction we had all day. I grabbed my my bright red over-the-shoulder tote and headed out.

My first class of the day was AP Geometry. Despite what many in my school thought, I actually didn't mind school. I dreaded waking up early, but since it was a boarding school we didn't have to wake up as early as most people to get to school at eight. I was actually kind of smart, I never failed and my average was about a B+. I wanted to go into something in the science and math field. I never skipped a class and I actually enjoyed first period.

I went into the classroom. I read what was on the board and opened my textbook to the correct page. I read the page and took notes on it. I was bored so I decided to text Anthony. The notes literally took 5 minutes and the teacher was preoccupied with something on his computer. I wasn't _that _ interested in math to ask what we should do. I also didn't wanna get moved to The Uglies by the pretties in my class.

Anthony and I texted about the date he wanted to take me on that afternoon. I told him I wanted to meet during 3rd period which was when I had Study Hall. Anthony rarely ever showed up for a full class so it wasn't a problem for him. We texted about what we were doing in class and then the teacher finally came off the computer. We only had five minutes left so everyone was talking or texting. The bell rung and we all trudged off to our next class.

We all had a language 2nd period. I took Spanish because I thought it would be the easiest. I was wrong, I hated Spanish with burning passion. I turned in my half completed homework and the teacher gave me a stern glance which I shrugged off. There was only one seat in the back of the classroom, which I wanted. I walked back there, thankful that I hadn't decided on heels. Quickly, right as I had gotten there a pretty took my seat. You could always tell a pretty from the rest of us. First, they had a similar sense of style, second, they had a smug look on their face, thirdly, they all had a small pin on their sweater vest/blazers/polos.

I took the seat in front of him. Ignoring the prickling feeling on the back of my neck, saying he was watching me. I opened my textbook and stared at the mess of foreign words swimming in front of my eyes. How the heck was I ever supposed to remember this stuff!? I stared at the teacher with a bored look on my face. The teacher was a bit scared of me seeing as I had perfected my scene look over the ages. Finally after a class of tuning out it was over.

Finally, I was going to see Anthony. I walked into classroom 1-35 and saw my wonderfully perfect boyfriend sitting in the classroom looking very bored. I walked over to him calmly even though I felt like dashing into his arms. He heard my footsteps and I waved at him. He waved back and I hurried my footsteps to get a seat next to him. This was the only class I had with him except for lunch. We sat and chatted for the entire period and snuck kisses which wasn't very effective because of my bright red lipstick.

Then I went to British History which was the most boring class so I pretty much fell asleep. Lunch was as good as always. I was really hungry because I had skipped breakfast because I had taken too long with my outfit. I got a stromboli with a caesar salad and a Sprite. Anthony got the same thing except with a Pepsi and no salad. My best friend Lexi got salad, saltines and seltzer water, she was on some kind of weird diet, trying to lose 5 pounds.

After lunch we always had our electives. I took drama and art. On Wednesdays I had PE which I was unhappy about because that meant I would have to wear drab waterproof makeup. I didn't take swimming, indoor track or basketball because I preferred exercising in the all girls gym in the basement of the girls dorms because I could wear just a sports bra and yoga pants. Drama was really fun because Lexi took it with me and I had art with my other friend Maura.

I went back to my dorm and did my homework then I took off my makeup, after I went down to the gym and worked out for an hour. I got ready for my date with Anthony preferring to go with a more casual look. Dark Blue skinny jeans, a purple shirt with a smiley face on it and dark blue heels and normal wavy blonde hair.

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><p><strong>(Annabeth POV)<strong>

I woke up and 5:45 and got into my tank top and yoga pants. I slipped into the elevator and went down to the gym. I realized that taking the elevator ruined the point but I shrugged it off. I worked out for about an hour and then went back upstairs, this time using the stairs. I trudged back into the dorm and nodded to my best friend, Thalia. Who had just woken up, at 6:45, to do her makeup and who knows what else.

I went into my bathroom and frowned at the purplish-blue bags underneath my eyes. My frizzy hair was weighed down by perspiration. I jumped in the shower, letting the hot water refresh me. I got out and marveled at the French or Italian designs that made this bathroom look elegant. The full wall mirror was a big help but the double sinks served no purpose seeing as each dorm was equipped with two bathrooms, two walk-in-closets and even had a mini bar/kitchen. I walked into my closet, bored by the monotony of my clothes' colors.

I decided on a pale yellow skirt that stopped a few inches above the knee and a pale pink ruffled blouse with beige heels. I straightened my frizzy hair to perfection leaving the ends with a little curl. I put on my make up to look as natural as possible and headed out the door wobbling a little unused to the new height. I sat on my bed and put my books in my oversized shoulder purse. Thalia came out of the bathroom dressed in similar garb but in darker shades.

She was wearing a black skirt a bit shorter than mine with a light blue polo and black stiletto heels about 5 inches high, how she could walk in them was a mystery. I smiled at Thalia and she smirked back.

"Let's go, preppy princess." She teased.

"I'm not a princess!" I whined, angry that she would even try to say that I was shallow.

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow, "The price tags that I see in the trash tell me otherwise."

"As if your clothes don't cost as much!" I shot back.

"Someone's feeling witty today!" Thalia teased. I sighed knowing this would never end if we kept going.

I walked across the covered walkway to the school. On one side of the school were the girls dorms and on the other side were the boys dorms. I opened the fancy glass doors and walked in. Noticing Luke among the people parting the way, I shot him a glare. I saw Percy standing on the other side, I ran towards him. I linked him arm in mine and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No PDA!" Complained Thalia, suddenly standing right next to me.

She moved in between me and Percy, separating our arms. I rolled my eyes at my friend's childish antics. I checked my phone, seeing that it was only 7:20. I dragged Percy away from our annoying friend. We went to classroom 1-36 it was never used but the janitors kept it clean just in case, it was the old English classroom but since the recession many students dropped out and there was less need for as many classrooms.

I pulled Percy close to me and my lips met his with burning passion. A frenzy of well placed kisses and lustful moans was the only thing on my mind at the moment.

"Oh, eww, really guys? We were supposed to meet here and you guys end up making out." Percy's cousin Nico was standing at the door, complaining as always.

I rolled my eyes but hesitantly removed my swollen lips from Percy's. I smirked at Nico and gave Percy a quick peck on the lips. Nico childishly covered his eyes and I yet again rolled my eyes at his antics. It was about 7:35 so I left Nico and Percy to talk about whatever boys talk about and I went back to Thalia who was flirting with some boy. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away, ignoring her complaints. I dragged her to our lockers and she reluctantly took her books and headed to American Lit. while I went to AP Geometry.

I hated the class, it wasn't just that the class was overrun with Halfways, it was that the teacher was awful. I was trying to be an architect so I needed some background with math and shapes, right? I wasn't getting it, I would most likely have to take the class in college.

The crazy girl who changed her style pretty much everyday was standing in the front of the classroom, scanning the room for a seat, we locked eyes. Disgust and annoyance were clear in her eyes. Luckily she took one far away from me. I hated her, I didn't know her but her sense of style and her overconfidence annoyed me. I preferred to stay with the others of my class, who actually knew what I went through and didn't just think I was a stupid, shallow person.

That class was soon over and I had to go to French, it was my favorite language. I took the class with Piper, who was much better at French than I was. We did some listening exercises and did some writing along with taking notes. I then went to 3rd period which was History, the teacher just made us watch a movie and take notes, at the end she gave a short lecture on the topic. Then I went with Piper to lunch.

I sat with Percy, Thalia, Nico, Piper and Jason. We were the so called 'elite' of The Pretties. Piper and Jason talked amongst themselves about some date they were going on and chuckled at past ones. Thalia, Percy and Nico started shooting spitballs at some Uglies until I told them to stop. Pretty much we all ate the same thing. We all had a slice of pizza and a soda. Percy had Orange Fanta, Nico and Thalia had Pepsi, Jason and Piper and Coca-Cola and I had diet Mountain Dew. Piper and I had salads also though.

My 4th period was Study Hall so I did all my homework that I had that evening so I could spend my free time with my friends. 5th and 6th period were electives so I took art and music history. On Thursdays I had double PE, like most girls I preferred to work out in the private gym instead of in an actual gymnasium.

I went back to my room and did my homework, by that time it was about 6:45 so I went to the gym and worked out for an hour, at 8 o'clock I took a shower and washed my face. Then Thalia came back from wherever she was and we talked until about 9:30


	3. The Date, The New Friend, and The Start

**(Grace POV) **

I walked from the dorms to the main patio, hoping to find Anthony there. The patio was covered in a modern asymmetrical awning but was plain concrete with off white synthetic wood tables. There were bushes outlining the area and made the patio look less devoid of life.

Technically I wasn't allowed to be here, but if anyone but the principal caught me here there would be no problems.

I stood there, shivering in the breeze, it was the beginning of the school year, September, so it wasn't too cold but occasionally there was a heavy breeze.

I peered into my oversized tote, but couldn't see anything due to the rapidly ceasing light. I grabbed my phone out of the outside, zippered pocket and turned on the flashlight, easily accessible with iOS 7. I found my compounded, faux leather jacket and shrugged it on.

It brought me no comfort, the jacket was thin and would only heat up after minutes of wear, but at least it blocked me from the wind.

I pulled out my beanie and slipped it on. Fashionable but useful, I covered my ears and looked cute.

I checked my phone, there was pretty much no light outside and the principal would be coming around to do his rounds. We didn't have to be in our dorms until 10 but we couldn't be loitering around, we could leave campus as a sophomore.

Finally Anthony showed up, looking freshly showered and sheepish, at least in this light, which was practically none. "

Um, what took you so long?" I demanded, "Do you see this outfit? This is not an, 'OMG, I'm gonna wear a beanie and leather jacket outfit!' this is an, 'OMG, my boyfriend's late and it's kind of cold!' outfit." I exploded.

"Geez, you're so touchy today. Is it that time of the month?" He asked cheekily.

My eyes blazed, "For your information it is not, 'that time of the month'" I lowered my voice, "I was just really cold, okay?" I said, hoping he could hear the pleading in my voice.

"Ok, sorry, I was at the gym, I got carried away, you know how I get." I nodded, understanding his problem. "So can we go now?" He inquired.

"Sure, yeah, where are we going?" I asked.

"Just to the diner down the street, I couldn't get someone to drive us." He said, sounding truly disappointed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, we have to be back by 10!" I said, trying to cheer him up.

It worked, a smile broke out on his chiseled face. I walked over and linked my hand with his, looking up at him and kissing his cheek. We walked along, hand in hand, him towering over me by 6 inches, standing at 6'.

"You know, it always annoyed me that you were taller, not that I want to be taller than you I just don't like being so short. You make me feel short." I pouted, "I think we should break up, the height difference is just something I can't look past." I said sincerely.

"You're not serious!" He exclaimed. I nodded, showing how sincere I was. "After dating for almost a whole year? And you're breaking up with me over a height difference. Honestly I never thought you were this shallow!" He took his hand from mine, running it through his messy curls.

I rolled my eyes. Surprised he fell for it so easily. "I was joking, I won't go there again, obviously breaking up is a sore point for you, sorry. I didn't know it would affect you so much." I said, trying to see whether he was mad or not.

"Ha!" He laughed, the short outburst surprising me, "You fell for it too, I guess my acting classes are finally paying off, huh?"

I shook my head with silent laughter, "Yep, they are!" I finally looked away from his chocolate orbs to look at the bright lights coming towards us.

Anthony picked up the pace, walking a bit faster, eager not to waste our precious time as it was already 7:30. I struggled to keep up in my heels, silently cursing myself for not thinking of wearing more comfortable shoes.

When we finally trudged into the quaint diner at the edge of the blaring light of the town, we were hit with a pleasant scent of hot cocoa.

"I'm paying." I announced, hoping he wouldn't argue with me.

"I already told you, it's my month to pay for dates." He spat back.

"But, we never go on dates during my month, you always have stuff to do. Plus I have a ton of money to blow from my birthday, I might as well spend it on something worthwhile." I argued, knowing he would give in.

His shoulders fell and his face loosened, knowing I had won this battle. I smiled triumphantly, leaning up to kiss him.

We walked up to the worn down podium, smiling at the 60-something year old waitress. "Hey Andy, hey Grace! Your regular table and regular food?" She asked.

"Our regular table but I want to try something different." I stated, looking at Anthony for confirmation.

I saw the answer I had been hoping for in his facial expression, I never got how people saw emotion in other people's eyes, eyes were expressionless, what happened around them was what matter.

We went to our table, not hidden in the shadows but not in the light, it was a small corner table with an amber casing over the bulb.

Instead of ordering my normal chocolate chip pancakes I decided to actually order a dinner food and went with the baked and fried chicken dish but got my raspberry lemonade , Anthony, as usual got his bacon burger and cookies & cream milkshake.

While we waited we started up a conversation, "So, how's Ginna?" Ginna was his sister who had cerebral palsy, she could speak but she couldn't walk, she was a lot of fun though.

"Oh, last time I saw her she was great, her speech gets better and better every therapy lesson. She wanted me to tell her she got the message and she says yes." He repeated.

"YESSS!" I mouthed, fist pumping.

Anthony chuckled. "So what was the message?" He inquired.

"Oh, you know girl stuff..." I trailed off, knowing that he would be more curious than before.

"What kind of girl stuff?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, a feat I was never able to accomplish.

"Oh you know.." I giggled, twirling my hair around my finger, "Stuff..." I giggled again.

"Grace, you know the dumb blonde thing doesn't work, you're smart." He countered.

I smiled, officially changing the subject, "I know but I'm hoping it will work to someone else. Do you have a piece of gum?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"Oh, you know..." I flipped my wavy hair, "For like.." another flip, "Stuff..." Instead of giggling again I burst into full out laughter.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a pack of Trident Watermelon gum. I held it triumphantly like a statue for a few seconds, making Anthony laugh, then I examined the pack, the gum packet wasn't that nasty wet that gum gets in warm temperature and it wasn't ultra hard. I considered putting one in my mouth but the waitress, AKA Lauren, was coming with our drinks.

"Here you go, one cookies & cream milkshake and one raspberry lemonade with two extra cups!" Lauren said in a false perky voice.

"Thanks Laur!" I replied to the 19 year old waitress,

"We've gotta hang out more! When're you free?" I asked.

"Um... I think sometime on Saturday but lemme get back to you on that OK? When I come to pick up the bill? Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine, thanks!" Starting to drink my pinkish red lemonade.

Anthony and I always split our drinks, not drink with two straws from the same cup but from different cups. Drinking from the same cup was kind of disgusting, not to mention that Anthony would drink much faster than me.

I got some of his milkshake and he got some of my lemonade, which seemed completely platonic but we weren't just dating, we were friends too.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying our drinks, until the food came which was relatively soon because the diner tried not to have too much of a wait in between the drink and the food.

"Oh my goodness, this is so good, I mean the baked chicken isn't all dried out or really over fragranced and the fried chicken is just really good, not blah at all." I told my boyfriend.

"Well, you know how my burger tastes." Anthony replied.

"How come, whenever we go out you always seem to get the least healthy food on the menu?" I asked.

"Um... I like burgers?" His reply was more of a question.

"Do you, do you really?" I narrowed my eyes, "Because it doesn't sound that way!" I raised my voice to the maximum 'indoor' volume.

Anthony raised his head towards the ceiling in silent question, 'Why, why me?' I jokingly glared at him and he glared back until I broke eye contact, unable to hold in my laughter.

Dinner went on this way until we finished our meals, teasing each other and giving each other small pecks, on the cheek of course.

When I finally checked the time I saw it was 9:43. "Oh my goodness, we've gotta get out of here, it's almost curfew!"

Actually, the school gates closed at 10 but you had to be in your dorm and the lights off by 12 am.

I frantically combed through my tote bag to find my wallet, snapping at Anthony when he tapped my shoulder.

"What! Will you stop tapping me... oh" I blushed, noticing my red wallet in his hand, "Thanks!" I said, guilt evident on my face.

I took out the money and paid the bill, scrawling out my number for Lauren on the receipt. I grabbed Anthony's hand and half ran half walked out of the restaurant.

I paused for a moment to switch from the heels I was wearing to a pair of Toms I had in my purse.

"Man, your purse has everything!" Anthony exclaimed.

"Yeah, I always keep emergency stuff in here, I have a bra and underwear, a faux leather jacket, a thin long sleeve shirt, yoga pants, a hat and vans... oh and a hair brush and hair tie and all the other purse-y stuff." I explained, "You can never be too cautious." I said.

"Actually you can, like overprotective parents." Anthony argued.

"I meant in terms of what is in my bag." I rolled my eyes.

It was getting harder to see, I turned back to Anthony, I could barely see his lean silhouette, "Race you!" I shouted, taking off.

I had the head start but Anthony had the advantage of longer legs. I was on the track team, but of course I was a sprinter, my best was the 200m.

I failed, Anthony won, us both panting for a moment. I smiled at him and held out my arm.

"Good race, MaGargee." I said, through pants.

"The same to you, Taylor." I laughed, it was breathy, I still hadn't recovered.

"Well, I got to run, see you tomorrow?" I asked. "

Yeah, see you Grace." He leaned down to kiss me, and I pulled away quickly, not wanting to miss curfew.

I ran back to my room, seeing Piper was back from her date. Her hair curled with a plain blue v-neck long sleeve shirt and white capri's with red Toms.

I changed into my pajamas, and saw Piper in hers, Cherokee Eagles on hers and mine a plain navy blue with purple designs.

I asked, "Can you help me with History? I need to remember the dates."

"Sure!" She replied in her perky voice.

We studied until 11:30 and decided to get to bed. I realized that Piper was actually really nice and that she would be one of my friends if she wasn't a Pretty.

"How come there are the groups in the school?" I blurted out as the night dragged on.

Piper stiffened beside me, wrinkles appearing on smooth forehead. In a strained voice she replied, "It's getting late." She glanced at her watch, "We should get to bed, we need sleep too if we're going to ace the test, huh?" She laughed.

She seemed to look anywhere but me, her laughed seeming fake.

I trudged over to my bed, resting my head on the pillow, Piper turned out the lights.

"Look, Grace, I know none of this makes sense, it probably never will, all I'm going to say is to stay out of it. It's complicated, if they find out you're trying to figure it out then you will be put into The Uglies. All I'm going to tell you is that there's a lot more to us then it seems. Even Annabeth, she's really smart and she's had a hard past." She advised, "Annabeth will find out you're trying to find the answer before you know it. Especially if she doesn't like you, and trust me, she think's you're going to be trouble, I would lay down on the style radar for a while, just fit in, OK?" She responded.

I nodded, then I realized she couldn't see me, "Yeah, I understand." Piper was silent, I eventually fell asleep but I was wary of what the secret of the school was.

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><p>I woke up that morning with the question hanging over my head. I swore there was a question mark over my head.<p>

I marched into my bathroom, not acknowledging Piper who was already wide awake and doing her weird yoga in the morning ritual.

I took a shower but just blow dried and brushed my hair, leaving it in it's natural waves. I put on a purple graphic tee and black sparkly ripped skinny jeans with red adidas high tops and red beats around my neck. I came out with a quizzical look on my face, wondering if this was 'normal' enough for Piper. Piper just shook her head and pulled me into my closet to change my clothes.

"You need to wear a plain tee shirt and plain blue jeans, do you have that?" She said while rifling through my closet, frowning at some articles while a small grin creeped on her face for others.

"Remind me after school to help you get your 'Annabeth approved outfit'" She said it like she didn't like Annabeth.

"Don't you like Annabeth? I thought you two were best friends." I said.

"We are. I doesn't mean I agree with everything she does, that's how I know what she approves of or not, if it wasn't for her I would wear jeans and high tops everyday." She stated.

I nodded showing I understood. I changed into the clothes she picked out for me. It was a bit more muted then normal but it was at least my style. Lastly she took my hair and fixed it into a fishtail braid over my shoulder.

I smiled at her and then left the room and building to get to school.

"Hey, you look different." Anthony commented, "More... hm... muted." He examined.

"Yeah, apparently I'm on Annabeth's 'radar', perks of having a pretty for a roommate. Especially one of Annabeth's best friends." I said.

"Ah... Yeah, I never thought the boys would be big about this pretty thing but Leo is all out with it. It's weird, like, I thought that was a girl thing." Anthony said.

I smacked his chest, "That's so sexist!" I shouted, my mouth open in surprise and my hand on my hips.

"Sexist but true." Anthony commented, trying to get me mad.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." I walked away from Anthony without looking back, trying to get to my extremely boring classes.

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><p>When I got back to the room at 3:10, Piper was already there and ready to go in sweatpants and an oversized sports tee.<p>

"C'mon, we've got closets to clean!" She shouted good naturally. I smiled at her carefree manner and joined her in my closet.

She threw half my clothes into the middle of my closet, me arguing a few times about pieces of clothing I really loved like my indie band tee shirts and a few of my short, daring black dresses. She only let me keep my long dresses, plain t-shirts, unripped jeans, skirts, silver and gold jewelry and shorts.

"I'll be dressing you every morning!" She teased.

For the second time that day I found myself wondering how things would be different if Piper wasn't a Pretty, or a new thought, if I was a Pretty also.

Life would be different, that was for sure. Piper had to go, and I had to do homework but she promised when she came back we would talk.

"Like friends?" I asked, seeking confirmation.

"Like friends." She confirmed.

We smiled at each other, I think that was the moment when I became truly curious about The Pretties.

Why they were so remote, so isolated, so... different.

It wasn't arrogance, no unlike their name suggests, The Pretties never seemed like they thought they were better than us. It was almost like they never thought to communicate with 'The Halfways'.

We just never had occurred to them as people to actually talk to, more of just people who were there, they just coexisted with The Pretties.

They were all connected somehow. And that was the information I wanted to know. There was nothing in my way, nothing except a stupid school hierarchy system. But how would that affect my plans? That I was to find out.


	4. The Meeting, The Betrayal, and The Lies

**Friday**

**Annabeth POV**

I woke up that morning to the sounds of a hair dryer. I groaned and turned my head. I heard the hair dryer turn off and I breathed in a sigh of relief, but it was short lasting. About five seconds later Thalia was hitting me with a pillow.

"Thalia!" I shouted, "leave me alone, you know I was out late yesterday!"

"Yeah, what were you doing with my kelp headed cousin?"

I opened my eyes to see Thalia wiggling her eyebrows. I groaned and rolled over, off my pillow, and threw the pillow at her.

I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and trudged to the bathroom. I took a shower and then walked into the closet.

I sleepily pulled out a white strapless dress with small roses, a black blazer and a pair of black flats. Our school had virtually no dress code, just that you couldn't wear heels over 5 in., you couldn't walk shirtless, and you couldn't wear sandals until April.

Back in the bathroom I curled my hair, pulling a black plastic head band over my curls. I dabbed on a bit of concealer and foundation and put on some mascara and eos sweet mint lip balm.

I tucked the eos into my blazer pocket and walked out of my bathroom to observe what Thalia was wearing.

She had on a polkadotted spaghetti strapped shirt that would be a crop top if it wasn't for the high waisted leather skirt she was wearing. She paired it with a studded leather jacket and black Jeffrey Campbell heeled boots. Just to finish the look she had left her hair in it's natural black waves, though the end was dyed a bright red and hung at her waist, and painted her lips a bright red, it looked good on her.

"Thalia, love the outfit!" I complimented, "I wish I could pull off something like that."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "I've told you a million times you could, though I don't know how much Percy would like you after that. I think he likes your style."

"I don't know about that."

"I do!"

"That's what you think."

"You're right, it is what I think, and what I know"

"I'm gonna take the high road and leave this conversation."

Thalia shrugged like she couldn't care less, which was probably true. We exited the room with our bags at our sides.

We walked down to the lobby and each grabbed a pastry, I grabbed strawberry and Thalia grabbed a chocolate.

We walked over to the school and I noticed how cold it had gotten recently, "Did you notice how cold it is?"

"No, unlike you I'm actually warm blooded, my body heats right up."

I hit Thalia's arm and glared at her, I started running, hoping to get my blood pumping. Once I was about halfway down the walkway I stopped, allowing Thalia to catch up. She was trying to run in her heeled boots and kept on almost falling.

I laughed at her struggles and kept on walking. I looked back a few times and saw that Thalia had given up on running and was just walking.

I went to my locker, but didn't see Percy. I wasn't worried about it, he was probably hanging out with Leo and Jason, or swimming laps, often times he got carried away.

I went to the pool just to check up on him, I was afraid that if he missed more classes he would get an in-school suspension. As it turns out he wasn't in the pool, but if that clock was right, I was going to be late for AP Geometry which was conveniently placed on the other side of the building.

Of course, this is what I get for being a kind and selfless person, a tardy!

I ran to the other side of the school, hoping to avoid teachers, luck finally decided to help me and I made it to my locker without a hitch, I grabbed my books and my bag.

Once inside the classroom I looked at the clock, I had made it there with about 50 seconds to spare. The teacher, though she couldn't teach, was a stickler for homework and being on time.

I laid my homework in the top right corner of the desk where it was supposed to be, if it wasn't there we'd only get half credit.

I saw that girl, Grace, as Piper had informed me. She wasn't doing her crazy style any more, which I was thankful for. She was wearing a white shirt with the definition of weirdo on it. She had blue jeans, black converse and nerd/hipster glasses perched on her naturally wavy blonde hair. Her makeup was actually really good, she had a smoky eye and lip gloss.

I turned away, paying attention to what the teacher had written on the board. We had to read and take notes on a couple of pages and then do a few problems on the theory.

That class went by in a blur and so did the next few, before I knew it the day was over and I was heading back to my dormitory.

When I got there I saw that a ton of people were in my room, thanks to Thalia. I saw that Nico, Percy, Jason, Piper, Sammy, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Leo, Silena, Beckendorf and of course Thalia.

"Um... Thals?" I questioned, "What're all these people doing here?"

"I told you already!" I gave her a quizzical look, "Or maybe I forgot, but that's not the point, all these people are here because we're planning our party for next Saturday. You know, guard duty, drinks, snacks, housing et cetera, the list goes on."

I nodded slowly, "Well, I'm gonna go change okay? I'll be right back."

I went into my closet and pulled out a comfy pair of Lululemon yoga pants and a Lululemon blue tank top. I traded my flats for a pair of moccasins and walked out. We dressed to impress at school and elsewhere but here, near the other Pretties, I could dress comfortably.

I sat next to Percy and waited for Thalia to speak, "So we need to make sure no one gets too crazy and that we have enough food and drinks so that no one thinks the party's lame and the right music and lighting and stuff."

I spoke up, "So Leo, Sammy and Beckendorf, since you three are good with lighting and music and that type of thing, could you take care of that?"

They all nodded, "And... since we're planning the party I'm assuming someone's parents are gone?"

"Yeah, mine." Piper said, I wasn't surprised, her dad was always filming and her mom was always modeling or taking vacation.

"And... You have a central sound system?" Piper nodded at that.

"So, Percy, Silena and Thalia, you guys good with drinks? It needs to be the best first party of the year."

" Yeah, we're cool with that." And some other mumbles said.

"Reyna do you mind if we both take care of advertising? I mean the party has to get out there somehow."

"As long as we're not using posters, which is tacky, I'm in. We can't have any teachers or the principal finding out there's going to be alcohol." She looked at all of us, "There is going to be alcohol right?"

Percy and Silena looked at Thalia and the rest of us followed suit, "Why're you all looking at me?"

"It was your idea for the party and you are the expert at hosting parties. So is there gonna be alcohol or not?" Leo asks

"Um... guys seriously think about it, we're 'The Pretties', it's the first party of the year and I'm hosting it."

There was a collective 'Oh', after that I felt pretty dumb but I shrugged it off.

"So, back on the subject. Who hasn't gotten a job?"

Jason, Hazel, Frank and Nico raised their hands. I thought of something for Nico and Hazel to do since I knew what Frank and Jason should do.

"Frank, Jason, you should be security, is that okay?" I asked, they nodded, "I mean it would just be for the beginning of the night."

"Hazel and Nico, I think you should..." I trailed off, thankfully, Thalia came up with something.

"You know what, since you two are all... whatever, you two are in charge of decorations."

Nico rolled his eyes and Hazel gave a soft and polite laugh.

"Well if that's all, I kind of want to finish up my homework before this weekend." I said, walking back to my bed.

Percy captured me in a hug, "Wise girl, you're always so uptight, c'mon, live a little."

I placed my hands on my hips, "I have lived a lot, thank you very much. At least longer than you have." I continued my journey.

"You know what I mean."

"Out, out, out, everybody out, that includes you Percy." I paused, "You know what, you too Thalia!"

"You realize this is my room too, right?" she said.

"Well go find your boyfriend of the day!"

"Actually we've been dating for a month." She placed her hands over her heart, "It hurts me that you don't pay attention to my love life Annabeth."

"I stopped keeping track after number, hm... 45 was it? Now stop sidetracking and go to the gym or something."

Thalia looked devastated, it was obviously her plan to sidetrack me, "Whatever, I have to get changed first though. But you're right, I haven't been in forever."

Thalia trudged into the bathroom and I gave a sigh of relief. I loved my best friend but sometimes I needed time alone.

I pulled my laptop from the nightstand and started typing an essay for french class, with the help of the textbook and google translate of course.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday<strong>

**Silena POV**

That morning I woke up and went into the bathroom, ignoring Reyna. We didn't get along well, she thought I was some dumb fashionista (For the record, I'm not) and I thought she was a stuck up brat (on the other hand she was).

I took a long shower and went into my closet to choose an outfit. I picked out a royal blue, strapless, belted jumpsuit and black flats. I wore jumpsuits when I couldn't think of anything better to wear.

I went into the bathroom, my blue eyes were bloodshot and my hair was a mess. I run a brush through my hair and try to make it look nice, I don't succeed so I curl it, the curls won't hold but they'll make my hair look okay.

I wash my face with the special soap one more time and start putting on my makeup, foundation and concealer as needed. I put black eyeliner, blue eyeshadow, mascara and dark pink lipstick on.

I come out to get my bag and find the half finished homework still laying on my nightstand. I groan and collapse back on my bed.

"Too lazy to finish your homework, huh?" Reyna's snarky voice doesn't help my problem. I turn to face her, "Go away."

"Is that the best you can come up with?" I'm about to respond but she starts up again, "You're right that is the best. Considering you're, well, you."

"Reyna, you can just stop y'know." I say, rolling my eyes.

She's wearing a blue cardigan that becomes a deeper blue, with a pink crop top underneath. She has a simple pair of blue jeans and bright blue UGGs, her eyes were lined in black khol, giving her an even more mysterious vibe and her hair was done in a side plait.

"I know I can, but I won't"

"Reyna, we're roommates, we might as well make the best of it." I rationalized.

Reyna froze on her way to the door, her bag falling off her shoulder, "You actually said something moderately smart. Maybe I was wrong about you."

"You were." I stated simply, "See you in AP American Lit." I picked up my bag and strutted out the door. I used the alternate exit, the one without the lady giving out breakfast. I wasn't anorexic but I never ate breakfast.

I went to find Charlie, who was, as always, standing at his locker. I walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He turned, "Hey Lena."

"Hey, I've gotta go talk to Annabeth, but I'll talk to you later." I lied. I was actually going to go talk to another student named Lindsay, she was an Ugly.

I walked down the halls until I came to the 2nd Cafeteria. Lindsay was there, standing in the corner, her dark skin melting into the background.

She smiled when she saw me, "What did you find out? My parents are kind of anxious."

"You told your parents!" An expression of disbelief formed.

"Uh, yeah. They're the ones who started this whole thing, didn't you know?"

"Right..." I stared into Lindsay's brown eyes, she nervously smoothed down her short, black hair.

"Well listen, I don't really want to get all this extra stuff. It's going to get way too complicated. What did you bring me here for anyway?"

She handed me a packet, "I want you to put these on after school and when your group of Pretties meet." She said 'Pretties' like it was a poison, "It has a small listening device, my dad supplied it, he said he needs more information on the 'children's weaknesses'."

"Okay, today at about 5:30 we're having a meeting about a party we're hosting next week Saturday, you'll probably learn some not so crucial facts, like whose parents are going to be gone and other boring stuff."

"Alright, lets get to our classes."

We walked away, making sure to go out opposite doors at different times. I walked to my first class, Geometry. She was a great and supportive teacher.

After that I had AP French which went by in a blur, listening exercises and a test. All my other classes went by in a blur until I got to AP American Lit., where I saw Reyna.

I took the seat right next to her, "So you weren't lying, huh?"

"Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I don't know, maybe it's those big, innocent blue eyes that you give to every teacher." She raised an eyebrow, "How'd it go with your Biology homework?"

I turned away from her, "That's my business."

"Ha, you got away with it. I knew it, can't take the pain like the rest of us, can you?"

I stiffened, then took a deep breath and shook my head. The teacher started the lesson, well really the presentation that we had to take notes on.

Reyna didn't attempt to talk to me for the rest of the class, which I was happy about. I went to lunch and ate a caesar salad and some Coca Cola. We chatted until we had to go back to our last two classes and those flew by.

When I got back into the dorm I crashed onto my bed, tired, from the whole week at school. I fell asleep right away, waking up at about 5 p.m..

* * *

><p>I stand in front of the mirror. Blue eyes stare back at me.<p>

"You're doing the right thing." I'm lying to myself, it's not gonna work.

I turn away from the mirror and step into my closet, I pick a short white skirt with black criss-crossing lines and a denim button down crop top. I put on a pair of denim stilettos and swipe on some lip gloss.

I pulled my silver necklace on and the matching earrings, these were the spying devices, and I hid the symbol on the necklace but the earrings were just big, thick hoops.

The symbol on the necklace was a simple circle with 3 spikes, but inside the circle was a black recording device.

I walked to Thalia's room, hoping Charlie was already there. He made me feel good, even though I knew I didn't deserve it.

As it turns out Charlie was there, I sat next to him, leaning on him a bit. He slid his arm around my shoulder and we sat to listen to the constant bickering, sorry, decision making.

After the meeting I kissed Charlie goodbye and went out the door. I didn't tell Reyna where I was going because she really didn't need to know.

I headed to the floor below mine, which happened to be Piper's floor. I stopped at door 3-16. This door belonged to Hailey and Lindsay, twin sisters, they were identical.

"Hey, come on in. Lindsay isn't here right now, but she should be back in a few minutes."

In my opinion Hailey was much prettier than Lindsay, even though they were identical, Hailey always had a smile on her face and was optimistic.

Not to say, Lindsay was pessimistic, she just was more of a realist who saw that things were bad for her and she had to work to make it better.

"So, Lindsay was listening in on the conversation, huh?"

"Yeah, I told her not to, but she did anyway. What information are you going to glean from a party conference anyway?"

"Interesting choice of words. Yeah, I mean maybe something was useful to her though."

"You guys talk about me?" Lindsay's cool voice interrupted.

We nodded sheepishly, "Well, I got some information, our dad wants us to scout the layout of the house, since Frank and Jason are just security for the beginning and make sure that no 'Uglies' get in we can sneak in later, and the whole house sound system should help if we ever need to freak them out."

I had to agree with her, "Who's going to scout the house though?"

"Don't worry Party Girl, we've got some of our friends on it."

"Good, I gotta go before Reyna gets suspicious." They nodded their goodbyes to me and I slipped out of the room. I went to go up the steps and saw Reyna, standing there, looking completely annoyed.

"What were you doing down there? Don't tell me you were with Piper because I asked her, she said you weren't there."

"You do realize that Piper pretty much hates you for having Jason before her right?"

"Yes, but we're on better terms now. She would tell me if you were there."

"Alright, I'll tell you where I was." I paused, "I was visiting Drew, she's an Ugly but she's still my half sister."

Reyna nodded, "Can you let me go up the stairs then?", Reyna nodded again.

I went by, finally getting to my room, that I sadly shared with Reyna. I went into the bathroom to change out of my clothes into a pair of loose shorts and a plain t-shirt.

I sat on my bed and tried to finished my homework. Geometry blended into AP Lit. which blended into Biology. I gave up and fell asleep with my homework scattered around me.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, if anyone actually reads this story. Review please. I don't mind flames, I'm in desperate need of a Beta, for this story and the other one. <strong>


	5. The Party

**(Piper's POV)**

**Saturday**

I told my parents that I was inviting my friends over for a 'sleepover', which they surprisingly bought. Or maybe they didn't care, that option was more likely. My father was Tristan McLean, the famed Cherokee actor and my mom was the supermodel, Alexis McLean, she had full, pale pink lips that were almost always coated in red lipstick, big light blue eyes that gave her an innocent look and porcelain skin with a delicate nose. I never knew what my mom's true hair color was, but she looked good in every natural hair color. All in all, my parents were the Hollywood 'dream couple'.

I had two half sisters, Drew and Silena. They were fraternal twins, almost identical except Silena had the big blue eyes from my mother and Drew had gotten smaller brown eyes. They were older than me by a two years, but a grade ahead.

My friends came over, each with an overnight bag, holding their party clothes. My parents had left about an hour before so we had the house to ourselves. We were planning to start the party at 10:00 which was a reasonable hour.

"Piper?" Thalia inquired, "What about the neighbors?"

"Well, the one across the street is for sale, one of the one's next to us is always empty, and the other house, they really don't care, they throw parties every other week. The other one's belong to family friends and we told them and one of the other ones belongs to Percy's dad."

She nodded, obviously satisfied, "So let's see the outfits!"

We laid them out on the floor of the guest suite. I put mine down first, it was a black zip up crop top and and turquoise jeans with Jeffrey Campbell heeled boots.

Then Thalia put hers down, a black dress with sequins on the bodice and thick sleeveless straps with black combat boots.

Silena laid hers down with care. She had an American flag zip up crop top, a black, sheer, maxi skirt and white platform heels.

We all waited for Annabeth to put her outfit down, but her face burned with shame, "I couldn't find anything to wear." she admitted.

"Neither could I." said Reyna.

"All the more fun for us!" Thalia shouted gleefully, "We can raid Alexis' closet and Piper's and get you a suitable outfit."

They both shrugged and followed us to Alexis' room. Thalia picked out Reyna's outfit with Silena's help and Hazel and I picked out Annabeth's.

"Hazel, as soon as we're done we'll see your outfit, okay?"

Hazel nodded and went back to picking out an outfit. Thalia came up with an outfit for Reyna first, it was a white cropped tube top, and a light blue skirt and black platform pumps.

We came up with Annabeth's outfit shortly after. It was much more modest and Annabeth's style. It was a floral spaghetti strapped crop top that skimmed the belly button and pink jeans and green platform heels.

We finally saw Hazel's outfit, it was the cutest ever. She was normally very conservative in what she wore but this outfit was a mix of times past and now. She had brought a tan dress that would look beautiful against her dark skin, but it had black and colorful flowers on it with butterflies that were dense at the bottom of the dress, which was at the knee, but became scarcer until the top where there was a single butterfly. She paired it with black flats that had a bow on the end.

"Alright, we should call the guys, right?" that comment came from Thalia.

"We should all call our significant others and Thalia, call Nico and Hazel, could you call Sammy and Leo too?"

Hazel nodded, always obedient but Thalia gave a deep breath but relented eventually. We quickly made our calls, well not all of us. The ever romantic Silena was having a cliche hang up argument. I was surprised that Beckendorf was actually involved but I supposed Silena's habits had gotten to him. Thalia was as bothered as the rest of us, and grabbed the phone from Selena, promptly hanging up.

"There!" she deadpanned, "Now neither of you have to hang up. You're softening Beckendorf up like frozen pizza in the oven and I don't like it."

"Do we have frozen pizza? It's my favorite. Ju-Just saying" Reyna put in.

"No!" Silena nearly shouted, an expression that was a cross between disbelief, anger and confusion crossed her face.

Reyna's eyes widened and she pursed her lips, "Sorry!" she put her hands up in mock surrender.

Silena rolled her eyes, turning to the mirror. She ran her hands through her hair, "What do you think is better, a french braid on the side or a fishtail braid?"

"Fishtail" Annabeth put in, "Simpler is better, but curl the front few strands so they frame your face, that would look really pretty."

"When did you become a fashion expert?" Silena teased.

"Since I started high school, y'know, changed my image a bit. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Lighten up Annie. I was just teasing."

Annabeth shrugged at that, seemingly unaffected, but as one of her closest friends I knew that by the slight widening of her eyes when Silena said Annie she was a bit offended.

"Well," I called out to break the tension, "The boys should be here any minute right?"

We all disassembled, going down one of the two staircases leading to the opposite sides of the house.

When I got to the double doors that opened into the foyer were opened. Silena stood on one side of the door while the boys uncomfortably shifted in the autumn breeze. Jason was stand uncomfortably, his hands in his jean pockets and an electric blue polo shirt that defined his muscles. As much as I appreciated the view I knew that the other girls, once intoxicated, wouldn't acknowledge that he was mine.

I caught my boyfriend's eye and smiled at him, he smiled back.

"Silena, Let them in. Can't you see it's cold outside?"

She quickly let them in and they filtered into the room.

* * *

><p><strong>(Annabeth POV)<strong>

**Saturday**

The foyer was extremely beautiful, a light rose color for the walls and an eggshell white for the trim. The floor was wooden, polished to a shine.

Leo looked in awe of the immaculate room, there was a high ceiling which gave away to a chandelier, lighting both the second and first floors. There was an elegant twisting staircase leading to the next balcony-like floor.

"Alright guys!" Piper interrupted, "This door will be locked, as will the doors leading to the foyer. A bunch of the rooms upstairs will be locked and the door leading here from the second floor, so lets get to work!"

We split up, making sure all the appropriate doors were locked. This back part of the house was extremely elegant but the front was modern and the basement was built for parties like these.

After that Leo Sammy, and Beckendorf went into the basement to work on the sound and lighting, with Silena showing them where to go. I assumed Leo would be doing most of the work though.

Percy and Thalia were on drink and food duty, everything was already in the kitchen and they were just setting it up. Frank and Jason were helping Nico and Hazel with decorations until the party actually started, which actually meant, 'moving all the breakable objects into securely locked rooms'.

Once everyone was doing what they needed to do I went into the kitchen to help Thalia and Percy. Or stop them from eating all the food.

The kitchen was made up of entirely black surfaces with silver accents. Black marble countertops, black fridge, a black microwave hung over the black hood which in turn hung over the black stovetop, perched on the counter.

The double ovens were stacked on top of each other, encased in black stone. The cabinets were entirely black with silver handles. All in all it was stunning and whoever designed the place was a genius.

"Thalia, Percy?" I called. I heard Percy curse.

"What have I said about cursing?"

"Not to do it and all that shi-stuff"

"Uh-huh that's what I thought."

I entered the small room off the side of the kitchen which was used to house alcoholic drinks. Percy and Thalia had the bags of snacks completely open and both were frozen with a cheese curl halfway to their mouth.

"Seriously guys? Those are for the party!"

"Uhh..."

"Thalia, is that how you're gonna defend yourself? Really? Just get to work guys."

I made them put different foods into assorted multi-colored plastic bowls. With them, it took forever and I ended up doing most of the work. I was able to bribe Percy but Thalia, well she wasn't my boyfriend.

"Percy, since we're finished can you put out the snacks?"

"Can't we do that later?"

"Yes, but why do it then when you could do it now?"

"So we can rest now. We already did this much work."

"How did you ever become the captain of the swimming and football teams? You are so lazy."

"Sports are different. This is actually work."

"Percy, this is easier than- Thalia, stop eating out the snacks! This is easier than playing sports."

"Anna, y'know, I'm really tired, I think we should do this later."

"So Thalia, would you like me to drive you home? I mean since you're so tired you won't recover in time for the party. And Percy, remember what I said last week?"

That got them to work and they scampered off, afraid of my wrath. I smug smile crossed my face and I sighed. I grabbed the light green bowl filled with pretzels and the light blue bowl filled with Spicy Nacho Doritos.

By that time it was dark out so Piper had turned on the lights to a low setting. The place looked excellent, the bold red, black and white paint on the walls with the couches covered in matching throw pillows. Everything and anything even remotely breakable was out of the room, safely put away.

At that time is was about 9:00 P.M. so we girls decided to get dressed in our outfits and stun our significant others.

"We'll be right back. Don't mess _anything _up." Silena threatened. When she wanted to be, that girl was scary.

I got into my patterned crop top and pink skinny jeans. I squeezed my feet into my green heels.

"Leo'll love that outfit Rey. And Piper, Jason will totally appreciate your thoughtfulness." I teased, "And Silena, I know we all think you're stunning all the time but that outfit looks amazing on you. Hazel and Thalia, first of all, Hazel, you look amazing in that dress and Thalia, you're certainly keeping up your image."

We started to do our makeup, applying the perfect shades to our individual skin tones.

"Every woman for herself, except for hair, that's Silena's job." I coughed loudly, "And Piper's." shouted Thalia.

We all did our makeup, and I curled some people's hair while Silena's job was to straighten their hair.

I went downstairs, Percy was waiting and I saw his eyes widen for a second, I smirked. Pleased that I had the upper hand for the rest of the night. I knew that Reyna, Silena and Piper were probably experiencing the same type of experience while Hazel was the one who seemed nervous.

Hazel was two years younger than us but was let into our inner circle to replace her sister, Bianca. Bianca had graduated and her brother, Nico, was a year ahead, a senior. Frank was a junior also but Hazel was only a freshman. They were adorable together, Hazel- as a confused freshman- and Frank, as a socially awkward junior.

I thought Piper's outfit was the best by far, Reyna's a close second with mine right behind.

"Percy honey, can you do me a favor?" Percy nodded intently, "Could you fix my strap? It's a bit twisted and I can't reach it." I actually could reach it just fine, my arms were long. I just wanted to play with my boyfriend a bit. There's no harm in that right?

He quickly fixed the strap, though his hands were shaking the whole time. Once he was finished I leaned up a bit and gave him a quick peck, his cheeks changing color. I smirked at him and walked away, placing my hands on my swaying hips.

* * *

><p><strong>(Grace POV)<strong>

**Saturday**

The party was starting at 10 which meant the socially acceptable time to come is between 10:30 and 11:30. I linked arms with my best friend, Lexi. We were going to get ready for the party together which meant racing back and forth from each other's dorms to get the perfect outfit and make-up.

Lexi's roommate was a Hazel, a polite yet distant African-American girl. Hazel went to prepare that party at about 4:30 which meant we had the place to ourselves for the night, since Piper was gone too.

I helped Lexi get ready first, her outfit was the most essential part. Her boyfriend was a known player within the Halfways community so she had to keep his eye on her at all times.

She wore a tight white crop top that stopped right above the belly button and had a sequined peace sign on it with a navy blue blazer that was just barely longer than the shirt with ruched sleeves. Her jean shorts were ripped and high waisted with sequins on the left side. Just to complete the outfit she wore sling-back wedges, open toe and matching with her blazer, she couldn't walk in any other heels though.

I bit my lip when she finished putting on the outfit, "This looks great!" I squealed. Lexi turned towards the mirror, I could see that she loved it as much as I did.

"Now sit, it's time to do your makeup and hair." I ordered.

Her curly auburn hair was left in it's natural curls, layered. She put mascara on herself but I gave her the dark blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner with wings.

Her dark blue eyes popped and the bright red lipstick made her lips look plumper than usual, "You're gonna want to put flavored lip gloss on, lipstick tastes disgusting."

She did as I advised and slipped the stick of gloss into her purse, "Now it's time to get your outfit ready!"

Lexi rifled through my closet, picking out pieces that she thought were acceptable.

"What happened to your closet? You used to have edgy, _good _clothes. Emphasis on good. These are clothes trying to be edgy hipster. So explain to me what happened. We need to have a long talk."

"Piper happened." I explained, plopping myself on my bed.

"I know she's a pretty but that pretty much explains nothing." Lexi followed suit, hugging the pillow she gave me for my birthday.

"So apparently I was on Annabeth's 'radar' for being too 'edgy' so I needed to tone down my style. So Piper went through my closet and picked out clothes that wouldn't attract Annabeth's attention, so long story short, we argued a lot and my best clothes went out the window. Or to a clothing donation place, same thing. But Piper's actually really nice."

"Ahh, I understand. Hazel's nice too, just a bit distant, she does _not _fit in with the other Pretties, let me tell you that."

"Hmm... only Annabeth and Percy really seem to fit in."

"Well, there's probably more to them than a pretty face, y'know?"

"I guess, but it just seems like there's gotta be a reason _why _there are these groups y'know?"

"Yeah, I get you. But we only have junior and senior year to struggle through, we've completed half of high school! We don't have to worry about this soon, we'll be off to college soon!"

"Speaking of which, have you thought of any?"

"Sure, but what school would be willing to take a girl with my grades?"

"You're smart, you just have to apply yourself. Just bring your grades up and start caring."

"You sound like a teacher. And it's easy for you to say Miss AP-Classes-and-amazing-style."

"You'd be surprised, there is too much drama at this school."  
>"Y'got that right, but for college I was thinking Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, University of Charleston, John Hopkins University, Goucher College, Radford University, and Davidson College. It's a lot but I need options, and as you know, I wanna go into liberal arts."<p>

"Cool, I have mine, I just can't remember, sciences all the way! I just ho-" The glowing red lines of the clock caught my eye, "Oh God, it's already 8:45! How the heck did that happen? We started at 6:45 and- oh that makes sense."

"Yep!" Lexi used her legs to hop off my bed and held out her hand to help me up. I groaned and reluctantly grabbed her hand, not at all supporting my own body weight.

"Grace, help me out here!"

"Excuse me, have you _felt _how comfy this bed is?"

"Yes, yes I have. It's just as comfortable as my bed. Y'know what? I think it's as comfortable as everyone elses!"

"Sarcasm is not becoming in young ladies, it is quite unattractive." I pushed myself into a standing position.

"And yet we both have boyfriends."

"Fair enough." I relented, "Now, what about that outfit."

She rifled through my closet again, hurriedly looking for a moderately acceptable outfit. She soon gave up on the racks of clothes and headed to the floor where the 'good' were. Lexi worked on separating that pile, humming softly to herself.

"Are you going to keep on separating piles like that?"

She stopped humming and looked up at me from her position on the floor, "Yeah, until I find the perfect outfit."

So she kept sorting clothes, it took her a long time so I exited my closet and got my iPhone. I stuck my earphones into my ears and played my new obsession, Burning Gold by Christina Perri. I went back into the closet and sat down against the wall, closing my eyes. I let the music flow into me.

I let other songs by Christina Perri play, getting lost in her music. Suddenly my earbuds were ripped from my ears.

"What the heck was that for?" I cried in outrage.

"I have your outfit ready!" I couldn't help but let my anger dissipate at the gleeful look on my best friend's face.

I saw my outfit assembled on the carpeted floor of the closet. It was my white sleeveless button up crop top with black shorts that stopped at mid thigh and a light pink infinity scarf, a matching pink fedora was also put out.

"Really? A fedora? I didn't even know I owned this!"

"Yeah, it didn't really seem to fit your style. Plus, I just wanted to see if you'd go along with it."

"Well I'm not, so. . . out, out out out!" I pushed my friend out the door, effectively shutting her out. I locked the door and quickly changed into my outfit. I consulted myself in the mirror and after a few seconds, deemed myself appropriate.

"Makeup time!" I sang, throwing the door open. In doing so I accidently hit Lexi in the head with the door.

I winced, "Sorry!" Lexi glared at me, holding the side of her head. I held my hands up in mock surrender, a guilty look on my face.

"What about my outfit?" I tried

Lexi attitude changed instantaneously, "I love it, now all you need are your shoes and makeup."

I pulled out a pair of strappy, open toe, light pink, faux suede heels. I wobbled around in them at first, unused to the new height. I was thankful Anthony was so much taller than me, I could wear whatever sized heels I wanted without worrying if I was too tall.

I sat down at the small desk and pulled out the third drawer from the top on the right side, the one full of makeup. I layered on my basic foundation and concealer, making my skin look perfect.

Light pink blush was blended into my cheeks, giving me a natural rosy glow. I applied colored lip balm, it smelled like strawberries. Lexi lined my eyes with white eyeliner, followed by pink eyeshadow that faded into a color that matched my skin tone. I had black mascara on.

"You look great Lex."

"Thanks, you too."

"Let's go, it's already 10, it's takes about 45 minutes to get there."

"Okay lemme just grab my phone and stuff."

"Sure. I'll meet you by the main entrance in 5?"

"Make it 10."

"Got it."

We went our separate ways. I didn't grab my usual bag, the one with all the crazy stuff, but I brought a medium sized faux snakeskin bag that had a loose black crop top with a smiley face on it and a pair of dark blue jeans, just in case I packed a pair of black sandals. Crazy things happened at these parties, mostly over consumption of alcohol but you never know.

I grabbed my stuff and dashed down the steps, ready to meet my best friend. I ended up waiting 20 minutes for her, but that was expected. She had never been on time before, it was an annoying habit of hers.

She finally showed up, wearing a different shirt and shorts, her blazer and shoes the same.

"Um.. what happened to the outfit I picked out for you?" I asked suspiciously.

"See, I was redoing my make- oh- don't worry I have a great explanation." She noticed my look of outrage, "I had been washing my hands, and then my eye itched, so I scratched it, messing up my makeup, but then I wiped my hands on my shirt and shorts, getting eyeliner and eyeshadow on them, so, yeah."

"Well, at least your outfit still looks nice. I love the dark purple shorts and the gray winking face. It's gives the message you want to give."

"Thanks, I was worried you'd be even with my explanation."

"Whatever, right now, I just wanna go to that party and have fun!"

We walked towards Lexi's Blue Infiniti Q60 Convertible, laughing and sharing gossip about the previous days' events.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for reading this.<strong>

**If you want to incorporate any ideas, I'm open to them.**

**Please, can I get 5 reviews from my 15 followers? Also if you're following my other story, I'm not going to update for ****_The Abused Duo_**** until I get at ****_least _****20 reviews for my story which was 114 followers. **

**Thank you all for following, I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

_**Important information:**_

**1. Nico will ****_not _****be showing up in the story. There isn't much depth to his character so far so I don't know how to write him, of course, he could be OOC but then he wouldn't ****_be _****Nico. Do you understand? I feel Nico is only defined by his broodiness, Percy is defined by his obliviousness and funniness. **

**2. However, there ****_will _****be the parents, not Hades though. It's going be like the Winter Solstice Council. Pretty much that's it. **

**3. I also got a tumblr and I have an instagram and a Polyvore. My instagram ****_is _****personal and really has no mention of Percabeth, ****_but_**** my Polyvore has the outfits of the characters of ****_this _****story only. So outfits for later chapters are out there. My username for my instagram is ****_kpretty_2001. _****My username for polyvore is ****_kaypielarre. _****My tumblr is one of those inspirational accounts and I got it yesterday so I'm not sure if I'm gonna post Percabeth, but I most likely will. It's ****_365inspirationnation. _**

**_4-25-14_**


	6. The Outfit, The Prep, and The Fun

**Friday**

**(Annabeth POV)**

It was about 4 AM and I couldn't fall back asleep. So I went into my closet and decided to pick out an outfit, but I couldn't think so I decided to draw another version of my dream house. I started in the living room. Planning the dimensions and moving out from there. I soon got caught up in my drawing and my pencil flew across the page, my brain whirring. Before I knew it it was already 5:30.

I picked out a matching sports bra and a pair of workout pants. I slipped them on, grabbed my phone and ran down to the gym. I went on the elliptical machine and did the steps for a little while before heading back up to the dorm.

I took a shower and put on my bra and underwear. I walked into my closet and immediately spotted my outfit for the day. I picked out a romper with a black background and light pink roses. It had spaghetti straps and black bordering the bottom. I picked out a pair of strappy, black, studded heels to go with it. I walked into the bathroom to put on my make-up.

I put on my concealer and foundation. Then,I put on light pink lipstick, and some pink eyeshadow with my usual blush and mascara. I brushed out my hair and used the straightening iron to calm my curls and then curled the ends and sprayed them with hairspray.

I was finally ready and walked out of my bathroom to see Thalia sitting down on the end of her bed. Her head was in her hands so I couldn't see her expression.

"Thalia? What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She looked up.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" Her face was streaked with makeup.

"Oh, nothing really, I was practicing my acting." She gave me a twisted grin.

"Well you better hurry up." I looked at the clock, "You have 35 minutes if you skip breakfast."

"Well I'm already dressed." Then I noticed she was, she had on a blue tube top with black gems down the middle, with black shorts and black, spiky leather booties.

"Yeah, it's a cute outfit, but you should fix your makeup."

"I have an idea." I gave a pretend scared face, "Shut up, you'll like it."

"Whatever."

"You do my makeup."

My eyes double in size, "Yes!" I squealed. I almost jumped but remembered I was wearing heels.

She pulled out all her makeup and I rifled through it while she washed her face off. When she got back I took out the concealer and then put on the foundation and then put powder on her pale complexion.

I put on her blush and rubbed it in, making it look natural against her normally freckled skin. I put a royal blue eyeshadow on her fading it into a gray. I used the cream eyeliner, to make it sharper, it looked barely touched as she usually used the pencil, and gave her tiny wings. I let her put her own mascara on. I put lip balm on her and then put lip liner on and gave her a reddish purple lipstick. I brushed her wavy hair.

"You can look in the mirror now."

"Finally!" She looked in the mirror, "Hey, you actually did a really good job."

"Thank you?"

"It's a compliment. I thought I was taking a huge risk and you were going to do my makeup like yours." She shuddered.

"Um... my makeup looks good on me."

"Yeah, but that's because you're Miss Tan, in case you haven't noticed I'm kinda pale."

"Yeah, I guess. But we seriously have got to go."

Thalia got up and walked out, I followed, we walked next to each other chit chatting about the day.

"What about that family meeting tomorrow?" Thalia asked.

"I'm not sure about that, but we have to dress super nicely, I heard it's a big one."

"Yeah, I know. But doesn't annoy you that to see our parents we have to go to a _meeting_?"

"Kinda, but it's all I'm used to."

"I guess."

"I gotta go, see you after class"

I drifted my way through all my classes, thinking about the meeting that was happening that night. I got called on a few times during classes but was able to answer the questions because I had the amazing skill of listening while daydreaming.

**Friday**

**(Silena POV)**

I was rifling through my closet, trying to find the perfect outfit for the family meeting. I had to dress appropriately, but nicely and my silver jewelry had to match. I finally found a light blue dress that had lace sleeves and a skinny belt around the waist. The dress ended about mid thigh. I wore matching heels and my earrings and necklace.

I knew we were discussing the coming-of-age. See, when we all turned 18 we had to run the company, but we were to know nothing about it until we were 15. Every year we got briefed by our parent and this year many of us were turning 15 so we all needed to get briefed and learn more about the company we would be taking over.

My mother was the CEO of one of the top fashion and makeup companies in the world. Because she had more that one child, we would each take a part of the company. I was taking over the clothing department, Piper was taking over the jewelry and perfume department, and Drew was taking over the makeup department.

The annual meeting was pretty much the only time we would see our parents all year. We all dressed our best and were on our best behavior because we wanted to please our parents. The Olympian family was extremely hard to please, and most of them had a reputation of being exceptionally difficult people.

I went into the bathroom to put on my makeup. I put concealer on my face to hide the dark circles I had been getting from staying out late with Hayley and Lindsey. I then put foundation on, then I continued highlighting and contouring. I used blush to bring out the pink in my cheeks. I put a nude color on my eyelids and put silvery-blue liquid eyeliner on the top of my eye. I then put mascara on my lashes, making them look longer and fuller.

I put lip balm on, a trick I had learned for softer lips. I put lip liner around my lips and finished up with a light pink lip gloss.

I looked at my reflection and smiled, my make up was impeccable as usual. I stood up and straightened out my dress, I tightened the belt around my waist. I fidgeted with my necklace and sleeves, making myself look as presentable as possible.

I finally stepped out of my bathroom only to come face to face with Reyna. She stepped back and I took in her outfit. She was wearing a black, strapless peplum top with gold swirls and gold jeans. She was wearing black triangular earrings with a gold circle at the tip and a long gold necklace. Her makeup was mysterious, smoky eyeliner and eyeshadow, paired with gold sparkles around her eyes gave her the looks of a Mayan queen. Her lips were painted dark red, in contrast with her golden skin tone.

I nodded to her, "You look nice."

She gave me a tight grin, "I could say the same about you."

"So... where're you headed."

"Family conference, how about you?"

"Um... same." I laughed.

"Yeah, my family runs the big, Denarius Industries."

"Oh, my family runs Olympus Industries."

"I heard they were merging!"

"Yeah, they're having a joint meeting this year."

Reyna and I smiled at each other, surprised at our similarities.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry guys, it's short but I wanted to get it out there. Next chapter will be the meeting. I had 4 sleepaway camps this summer and I was gone for 5 weeks. And summerwork is an enemy of mine.<strong>

**So there are two different companies, one Roman, one Greek. I think I made it pretty obvious which is which. Please review. Updates should be more regular from now on because I'm starting up with a normal schedule again.**


	7. The Meeting, The Guy, and The Pizza

(Annabeth POV)

Friday Night

I stood anxiously in front of the double doors, they were white with golden leaves engraved into them. I had no doubt that there was actual gold in the paint. The elegant doors opened slowly, revealing two men dressed in black tuxedos. They backed up, holding a silver tray in front of them. On the tray were security pins, which were electronic and over 10 feet or so they could scan our bodies, to make sure we were who we said we were.

I found the one with my name on it and placed the pin on my shoulder. I waited for Percy, and when he found his pass, I linked arms with him and proceeded to the main room. The Olympians were known for being over the top, and since they were merging with Denarius Inc. they would certainly be dressed to impress.

The room was simply gorgeous, the walls an eggshell white and columns in every corner. One half the room had chairs decorated with the logo of Olympus Industries, an omega symbol with a lightning strike through it. The other half of the room had chairs decorated with a gold coin with a large 'D' in the middle, which was Denarius Inc.'s logo. The room was set up so on either side there were 3 steps, each leading to a chair covered in red velvet, with the name of a main contributor to the company. Smaller chairs were on a lower platform in front of the velvet chairs, presumably for us.

I took my seat in front of the chair that said, 'Adrianna', my mother's name. She was a leading architect in the company and helped with military planning. My brother, Malcolm, was taking over the military planning and I was taking over the architecture side. Percy took his seat in front of his father's seat, Preston. Percy was his only descendant so he was taking over the entire company.

I noticed that Reyna, Hazel, and Jason all went to the other side, where Denarius Inc. was situated. When everyone was seated properly, I began talking to Malcolm. I hadn't talked to him properly, since he went to a different school and was 16, along with a few others.

"How's the school year been for you?" I asked.

"Good, good. A bit stressful though."

"And what year isn't?" I laughed.

He gave a low chuckle. "I guess you've got that right."

I opened my mouth and was about to ask him another question, when the lights abruptly turned out. A row of lights in the middle of the room remained, obviously creating a runway. The first person that stepped out looked exactly like Jason, and I assumed it was his father, Jason Sr., so called co-ruler of the skies. Next came out his wife, Jacqueline, leading wedding planner. After came Nicholas, leading marine biologist, and his brother Paul walked out swiftly after. He owned many cemeteries and morgues around the country. Mason, the man behind most of the battle strategies, followed close behind.

Miranda was next. She had the same job as my mother, however she focused more on crafts and architecture rather than battle strategies. Brad went after Miranda - he controlled many of the vineyards and luxury wine companies across the country. Diana soon followed. She controlled many of the hunting laws, helped keep population down and ran an organic meat company as well as supported single women.

Then, Alexander, known more often as Alex, stepped out next. He was a judge, who specialized in Medical Law. Victor was after. He ran many forges who replicated ancient pieces. After that Vanessa came strutting out. She ran a fashion, makeup and perfume company.

Next, my family came in, looking stunning in their outfits. My favorite outfit by far was Alexis's, who ran a successful fashion company so it only made sense that her outfit was fabulous. She was wearing a hot pink dress that stopped mid-thigh, and was tight enough to show off her curves. A scarf was draped across the dress, making it one-shouldered, and she wore it with earrings to match. To top it off, she wore black pumps with a clutch in the same color.

I smiled at my fashionable aunt, and she returned the gesture. She sped up her pace and took her seat behind Silena, Drew, and Piper. My mother finally stepped through the doors, dressed sharply in a nude shirt with a black blazer, a black pencil skirt and nude pumps with earrings to match. Her hair was in a serious bun and her make-up was light enough that it was barely visible.

She took a seat behind me and gave Malcolm and I a small smile and a firm nod. Once everyone was seated, Zachary and Jason Sr. stood up.

"I would like to tell you all something you probably already know." Zachary paused for effect.

"We, Denarius Inc., are merging with Olympus Inc. to meet head on with our competitors, Kyojin Co." Jason Sr. continued.

"We've come together because we believe their business has bad practices, and we don't want that." Zachary spoke. They seemed to be switching every sentence.

"We want the world to be fair, so we decided by merging our two businesses, making ourselves more powerful, we would stand a better chance against Kyojin Co."

"So the purpose of this meeting is so that you can learn to work together and strengthen different parts of your industry so our company becomes as powerful as possible."

"Thank you."

A projected image popped up on the white screen. It showed the groups that would be working with. Apparently I'd be working with Melissa, Malcolm, my mother and one other girl.

My mother whispered to me, "We're meeting in room 223."

I nodded back to her and walked over to the doors along with everybody else. Once outside the doors I waited for Malcolm and the other girl, Lauren. Lauren was a beautiful girl in a long, high-low strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. She had dark brown hair and a caramel skin tone. She looked very different from her mother, who had light blonde hair and a pale complexion.

"Hi Lauren," I extended my hand out, "I'm Annabeth, it's nice to meet you."

Lauren shook my hand and replied, "It's a pleasure meeting you as well." She had a low voice but it was soft.

I smiled back at her, "Well, c'mon then. I think our mothers' will meet us later, but we're going to room 223."

We were on the 7th and final floor and the room was on the 2nd so we took the elevator down 5 floors and walked until we found a door with the number 223 engraved into it. I turned the doorknob and the door swung opened easily. I walked into the room and Lauren and Malcolm followed me. The table had three sleek computers. I walked over to one of them and Lauren and Malcolm followed suit. A bar popped up and told me to enter my username and password.

Quickly, I entered my code. But big bold letters showed up, spelling out, "REJECTED." I frowned. I tried my email username and password and my school account. Both didn't work.

I decided I would ask. "Hey, d'you guys know how to log into the computers?"

Lauren shook her head and Malcolm replied with a "Nope," popping the 'p'.

"Yeah, I tried my email and school accounts, but neither worked."

We all sunk into a silence again.

I fidgeted with the waist cut-out in my blue dress. Malcolm was sitting with his elbows propped up on the table and Lauren was playing with her security pass.

"I got it!" she said enthusiastically, "It's on the back of the security pass!"

I looked at the back of mine and sure enough, there was two lines that seemed like a username and password. I typed annabethc0712 into the username bar and olympus0712 into the password bar. I pressed enter and I came to the home page. Only one icon was a Word Document which I clicked.

In large italics it read, 'Denarius and Olympus Inc.' underneath was various information about each company. I scrolled down and the next page three web links were displayed, I clicked the one next to my name. A bio on Lauren and Malcolm popped up and under it was another web link which I clicked on after skimming the two bios. The link simply described what we had to do today and what my role was.

Basically, we had to mimic a day at work that our parents had and they would evaluate how we did. It went on to say that we would be doing this every month for the year to get used to working with the other company. I closed the webpages and document and shut my computer. Lauren was still reading and Malcolm had finished before me.

We waited patiently for Lauren to finish. Once she finished we started discussing our strategy and got to work.

(Grace POV)

Friday Afternoon/Night

My roommate, Piper, had to go to some fancy-schmancy meeting with the rest of the Pretties so I decided to hang out with my friend, Lexi.

"Hey Lex!" I waved at her enthusiastically.

"Hey, Gray!"

"It always amazes me how you can actually shorten my name."

"My name is shorter than yours." She reminded.

"Still, my name is one syllable yours is two."

"Whatever. What're we doing today?"

"I was thinking of having a girls night out."

Her face brightened. "So, we're going to go Go-Karting, eat pizza and get mani-pedi's as usual?"

"I was thinking we should go rock climbing."

"Oh, that sounds fun, but we're still getting pizza right? You're not gonna go all Chinese food on me are you?" She laughed.

"No, pizza is a must." I replied with a smile.

"Alright, let's go!"

Lexi called a taxi and we went to the nearest rock gym. On the ride there, we laughed about things that had happened during the week, like Percy getting another detention but this time, the perfect Annabeth Chase got caught skipping with him too.

"I probably shouldn't have worn the shorts." Lexi laughed, biting her lip.

"Oh, yeah. Plus some of the bilayers look pretty young." I said, smiling mischievously at her.

"Well, who cares, maybe I can get one of their numbers?"

"Must I remind you that you have a boyfriend?"

"Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot."

"You seem to forget every time there's a hot guy around." I said, raising my eyebrows, "Hm?"

"I'm sorry, there are too many of them in the world."

"And here I thought, he was the player."

"He is! I'm just... just...just."

"Looking at other guys." I smirked.

"Whatever, it's our turn anyway."

We got onto the rock climbing wall, scrambling up, trying to beat each other to the top. I finished first, laughing when I rung the bell. When we got back on the ground we collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Oh my goodness, I was just reaching for it and then you rang it."

"And that bilayer, he so wanted to talk to you."

"He's coming over now!" Lexi said, "What should I say?"

"Tell him you have boyfriend if he asks."

"But what if I don't want to have a boyfriend?"

"You do, trust me." I responded, and it was true, she really did like her boyfriend. Sure, he was a player but he had stayed with her for a few months now and you could really see that they had a connection.

Sure enough the guy came over. "Hi, I saw that you guys were really good at rock climbing."

"Oh, thank you!" I responded before Lexi could say anything stupid.

His attention shifted to Lexi, "It's a shame your friend beat you, I thought for sure it would be a tie. My name's Alex by the way." He stuck out his hand.

"Lexi." My best friend responded.

"Um..., I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." I announced, blushing. I hurried over to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, and hastily pulled out my phone._remember u have a bf!._ I texted.

I hoped she read the message and realized what I was saying. I looked up and saw an older woman looking at me strangely, I gave her a fleeting smile and headed out of the bathroom. I scanned the room and saw Alex and Lexi talking, I headed over to where Lexi and Alex were holding a conversation.

"Lexi!" I forced a smile, "I'm so sorry Alex, but we really have to go. Remember Lex? We have an appointment later. We have got to go!" I said, pointing to an imaginary watch.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she flashed Alex a smile, "We really do have to go, but we'll be here again, see you later!"

We headed out to the parking lot and I called the taxi, as soon as I got off the phone Lexi started talking.

"He really was nice. But almost too nice. Not my type, but he would be a great friend."

"I see, I'm glad, lets just hope I don't tell your boyfriend that you were looking at other guys."

"You wouldn't!" She gasped.

"Stop being so dramatic and cliché, you know I would."

"Yeah, you would." She chuckled.

I laughed along with my best friend as we slid into the taxi. When we arrived at the mall, we paid the taxi driver. We headed over to the Pizza Hut. I got a slice of pepperoni pizza and Lexi got Hawaiian.

"Stop putting your ham on my plate!" I laughed

"I only like the pineapple, you know that!"

"But I don't want your ham."

"You don't have to eat it."

"But that's wasteful."

"Then eat it." She deadpanned.

"Haha, you're so very funny." Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

"I know, it's a talent of mine." She said arrogantly, flicking her hair.

I laughed at her antics, "Yes, I know. Being annoying is a talent of yours."

"Hey!" she shouted, covering her heart, "That hurt, I can feel the throbbing. It got hurt and now it's swollen and throbbing."

"You're ridiculous." I joked.

"Not as ridiculous as you!" she backfired.

Then a man, who had a pin that said manager came over to our table, "Ladies, you're disturbing the peace, and since you're finished eating I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I responded before my cheeky best friend could, "Oh, yes sir. We're so sorry, we'll go immediately."

As we threw away our trash and exited the restaurant, Lexi said, "I would've told him that it was a nice offer but we were okay with staying there."

"Which is exactly why I answered." I responded.

We got to the nail salon and talked to the owner, who came out of the back room.

"It's so good to see you!"

"Yes, yes. You girls haven't come in so long. I still have your favorite colors in the back and Louise and Margaret are just finishing up with a customer, can you just wait five minutes?" She asked.

"Of course Miss Leanne!" I chirped. Miss Leanne was an English lady who ran the nail salon at the mall. Since we had come many times over the school year she knew us personally. And she adored us which you could see since she saved our favorite nail polish colors and knew which manicurists we preferred.

Soon we were whisked away to get our nails done, my color was a pale sea green while Lexi chose a sparkly black with her fourth finger white. We chatted with our manicurists to see how their lives were going and we updated them with facts from our own lives. After our nails were done we headed back to the dorms.

"G'night!" I yawned.

"Yep, see ya!" Lexi said perkily.

We went our separate ways. I quickly took off my makeup, brushed my teeth, got into my pajamas and fell asleep.


	8. The Speech, The Suspicion, and The Study

**Annabeth POV**

**Thursday Afternoon**

"I would like to say, as student council president of this year, that I am extremely pleased with the generosity of the students at our school. Over the past month we have pulled together over $100,000 to the Ebola cause and will be donating all the money to the organization, Doctors Beyond Borders and their fight towards stopping the Ebola virus once and for all." I paused for effect. "This donation will assist in materials to aid the sick, to continue studying the virus, and most importantly, to preventing this outbreak from ever happening again by teaching the local people how to avoid contracting Ebola. Thank you." I stepped off the stage and back in to my seat.

I smoothed out the floral pattern on my skirt and crossed my ankles so the heels of my lavender pumps just barely grazed the floor. I risked turning around, scanning the crowd for bright sea-green orbs. My search did not disappoint, my boyfriend was looking at me intently with a half smile etched on his faced, I returned the expression and turned back around. My eyes focused on the next speaker who was speaking about homecoming.

"... And the theme will be the Red Carpet, so come dressed as your favorite celebrity! Or your parent if you choose!" A few chuckles echoed in the auditorium and the speaker cleared his throat awkwardly, as if he had expected more of a reaction. His face slightly flushed, he continued, "Thank you! Don't forget to vote for king and queen, and come to the football game!" After that he received a round of applause and a few shouts.

The vice principal walked on stage, "Thank you Brian, Annabeth, and Simera for your speeches." I nodded at her in recognition. "Now you may head back to your dorms. Classes for the rest of the day have been canceled, and I'll see you all tomorrow."

I slowly rose out of my seat and strode out of the theater. I met Percy and Thalia right outside the double doors.

"I had a great idea!" I gushed at once, "We could go for classics and be Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio!"

"Uh... Annabeth." Thalia said tentatively, "Marilyn Monroe, wasn't exactly the greatest role model y'know. You two could be just, y'know, two people and just have one of the iconic outfits remade for you."

"I like that idea. Percy?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I guess. But will it require a fitting?" he pouted.

"It will." I gave him a stern glare. His hopeful face fell, but he didn't say a word.

"Let's go! We have the rest of the day in front of us!" my best friend called, running ahead of us in her combat boots. Her layered hair had lost it's red tips and now lay pitch black on her shoulders. Her ensemble matched her hair, she wore a black crop top with sheer netting across her shoulder and black skinny jeans, all topped off by her combat boots.

I shot her a look. She knew I couldn't run in my carefully put together outfit. I wore a black crop top like Thalia's except it had cap sleeves and had lace instead of mesh. My skirt was pulled up to directly below my shirt and was black and white floral, I had a long lavender cardigan to match my heels.

I marched after Thalia and Percy, trying to look as purposeful as possible. I walked up the stairs to the third floor and into my dormitory where Thalia, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Jason and Percy were already waiting.

"Goodness Wise Girl, that took you forever!"

"I'm sorry, my wonderful boyfriend wasn't there, have you seen him?"

Thalia spoke up. "Enough of this flirting."

"Why are you guys even here?" I asked.

"Duh, Homecoming!" Leo responded sassily.

"Right, well, I'm gonna call my mom, and she's probably going to send a tailor." Piper said, taking out her cell phone. She walked over to the other side of the dorm for some privacy.

"How long do you think before Alexis squeals?" Percy asked.

"Not more than a minute from now." Leo predicted. He had a confident smile that spread widely across his face. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Wanna bet?" Percy challenged.

Leo was just about to respond when Jason cut in, "Guys, this is my girlfriend's mom we're talking about, please refrain from derogatory comments."

"Way to be formal Jase, we're just having a bit of fun." Percy explained.

"Don't let it include Alexis." Jason finalized, and of course, Leo burst out laughing. Jason's cheeks flared a blotchy pink color when he realized how that could be taken.

I decided it was time to step in. "Alright guys, it looks like Piper's almost finished her phone call. We'll figure out the details when she's off the phone, but please," I begged, "Just be mature about this. Especially you, Leo and Percy." They both gave fake offended looks and I just rolled my eyes at them.

Piper came back to the middle of the room. "My mom said, since Homecoming's next month she's sending somebody over tomorrow, is that good?" We all nodded, albeit some more reluctantly. "And she said to have your designs."

We all nodded again and I shooed everyone out of our room. I set to work on coming up with dress designs, I wanted something with a lighter color and that flows. Something that would be easy to dance in, but formal. I finally came up with the perfect dress; a bright blue halter floor length dress with a pleated skirt and a silver belt around the waist.

"Thalia, I came up with my design, what's yours?" Thalia walked over to me and showed my hers. The outline of it was hard to follow at first, but I got the picture. It was a long, forest green dress. It was one sleeved but it had a double strap.

"It's gorgeous, Thalia," I complimented. She blushed a bit.

"Yeah, I really like yours too." She commented.

* * *

><p><strong>(Grace's POV)<strong>

**Thursday Afternoon**

After Annabeth and Mark gave their speeches, I rose from my comfortable seat. Lexi was standing too, her sparkly shirt reflecting light onto the dark ceiling. She was wearing a loose and long sparkly gold shirt with white leggings and creme flats, not to mention the white headband nestled in her auburn curls. My outfit was much more casual, simply a royal blue T-shirt and black high waisted jeans, with blue converse high tops. I put my arm around my best friend's shoulders and we walked out of the auditorium together.

"Okay, so I really love anti-jokes. Wanna hear one?" Lexi asked as soon as we were out of the auditorium.

"Sure." I sighed, used to her antics.

"Okay, so why did the little girl fall of the swing?" She asked, already starting to laugh.

"I dunno, why?" I asked.

"Because her mom threw a fridge at her!" She gasped, doubling over with giggles.

I lifted my eyebrows at her in amusement, my mouth twitching into a closed-mouth smile.

"Here's another," She said when she finally recovered, "Roses are red, violets are blue, I have a gun, get in the car." A smile split her face, and a bark of joyful laughter escaped her lips.

I smiled, all my teeth showing, "People are looking, stop making stupid 'anti-jokes."

"They're not stupid!" She pouted, and her boyfriend, Matthew appeared next to her.

"Lexi, what did Grace do to you?" He asked.

"I did nothing, thank you very much. She's been telling anti-jokes!" I defended.

"Oh, those are pretty bad," he admitted.

"See, even Mark agrees with me!" I said, pointing a finger at Lexi's face.

"First of all, remove your finger from in front of my face," she pulled my finger down, "and second of all, shut up!" She snapped.

My eyes widened, shocked at my friend's sudden mood swing, "Sorry," I muttered, "I have to get back to my room anyway." I walked slowly away from my friend and her boyfriend. Lexi had been having mood swings recently, but I figured it was just that time of the month.

Once in my room, I noticed Piper was missing. I brought out my sketchpad and started designing a dress. I had always loved strapless dresses so I made the top an off white color, with a reddish pink skirt that stopped mid-thigh in the front and went to the floor in the back. I gave the top a slightly lacy cover. That took about half an hour, and by the time I came out of my closet, Piper was there, starting on her homework.

"Where were you?" I asked, not unkindly.

"Annabeth's room, we were getting tailors."

"Oh, I need to do that too!" I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and inserted the call in my reminders list, "Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem." Piper retreated into her closet, and I played Piano Tiles until she reemerged, dressed in an entirely different fashion. Her shoulder length brown hair was worn down, but had a braid woven with a feather. Instead of her tan heels, she wore black ballet flats. And in place of the knee length, royal purple, cotton dress she had been wearing, she had a pair of faded, sky blue skinny jeans and a black peplum shirt.

Piper collected her books, and left the room without a sound, the wooden door closing softly beside her. She was probably gone for another study date with Jason.

I exchanged my semi-casual outfit for a pair of yoga pants and a spandex tank top. Gathering my books, I headed down to the common room. There were only a few people common room, it was a large room with overstuffed sofas and tables where people could study and do homework. Next to it was a little cafe where people could get sandwiches, coffee, and other beverages. I placed my books down at an abandoned table and went to the cafe.

"How does Annabeth not notice? I mean she's the clever one, and she hasn't even seemed the least bit suspicious of you hanging out with us. C'mon Sil, doesn't that seem weird to you?"

"Maybe Percy's just rubbing off on her. He basically lives on trust and loyalty. He's trusting to the point of death. Or the death of his company at least. Plus we work here together."

"Another reason to be suspicious, why would you of all people get a job."

"I told them that I needed to focus in life and that I needed to get grounded before college."

I decided that I had heard enough at that point, "Excuse me?" I asked.

"Oh my God, someone's here!" I heard 'Sil' say.

"Hi, my name is Hailey, may I take your order?" A girl with a peppy attitude asked. She was wearing the sunny yellow polo, part of the cafe uniform. The shirt matched her attitude perfectly.

"Um, yes, could I have a medium Caramel Macchiato?"

"Sure! Silena, could we have a Car Mac?" Hailey called to another girl. I recognized Silena at once, she was always hanging out with Annabeth. As Silena made my drink I sat in awkward silence.

"Here's your drink!" Hailey handed me a steaming, styrofoam, travel mug, "That will be $3.50"

I handed Hailey the money, and took my drink. I treaded carefully back to my seat, trying not to spill my beloved hot beverage. Once seated I began to study my notes, but I couldn't focus on the Spanish verbs. My mind kept wandering back to Hailey and Silena's conversation. I tried to convince myself that they were just talking about a surprise for homecoming, and for some strange reason Silena needed Hailey's skills. But if so, why was Silena working at the shop? Couldn't they get together at some other time? A job was a semi-permanent thing, not something that would be kept for a month. It had to be bigger than that.

I was deep in thought when someone sat down next to me, "You need help?" A male voice came from my right.

"Yeah, how could you tell?" I chuckled. It was my friend, Xavier.

"Judging from your confused expression, mixed with that intent glare," he said.

"Oh, yeah. Could you quiz me?"

"Sure thing." And with that he picked up my Spanish notebook, slid my textbook onto his lap and began to tutor me.

After about an hour of me being tutored in Spanish and tutoring Xavier in Geometry, I finally went up to my room.

When I got there Piper was lazily lying on her bed and my earlier curiosity with Silena and Hailey's conversation was reignited.

"Hey, Piper, do you know a girl named Hailey?" I asked.

"Um... yeah actually, Silena's mentioned a girl named Hailey before. Said she goes to St. Valentine's Academy, you know that Catholic All Girls school?"

"Yeah." I replied dejectedly, "I just wondered if one went here."

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"I just wanted to see, for our short story in English? I just wanted to make sure I don't use someone's name. And you know pretty much everyone."

"Okay." She seemed to accept my excuse.

I made my way to the bathroom, wondering who this Hailey girl was, and why Piper didn't know her. Piper knew everyone... didn't she?


End file.
